With mainstream media expectations so high, Mike Huckabee’s new radio talk show was probably bound to disappoint. But newly-available hard data reveals a gaping donut hole where the audience should be….

According to newly-released Arbitron audience data, the Huckster is off to the kind of start that makes Air America Radio appear downright successful.

That’s despite enjoying an avalanche of free publicity upon his debut.

And that’s even before we compare him to Rush, as Huck doesn’t stand on his own, either:

In New York City, where he currently airs evenings on WOR-AM, Huck ranked just 20th overall in the broadest audience demographic, listeners six and older. Houston’s KSEV registered a tiny 0.1 overall audience share during his timeslot, good for 43th place in what should be a friendly environment. In Seattle, heard from 4-6pm local time, Mike drew a 0.2 on KCIS-AM, for a 36th place finish. A similar story in Cincinnati: 0.2 overall and 31st place on WQRT-AM. Hartford: 0.0 at WDRC-AM

Adding markets where Huckabee goes head-to-head with Limbaugh only underscores the futile nature of this battle:

Ain’t that the truth. In fact, I can’t listen to Hannity any longer. Hannity always fails to go to the root of the problem, is enamored with the sound of his own voice and is over-exposed. I listen to Rush and Levin and CDs…

Couldn’t agree more with both of you. Hannity is a second-rate motor mouth (actually, a first-rate motor mouth with a second-rate intellect) who hasn’t come up with an original thought in his life. Rush is constantly finding the hidden truths and angles on the Left’s strategies; he’s sharp, sly and penetrating. Hannity can’t come close.

As hard as he tries, and as compelling as Hannity’s story may be, he is still a New Yorker, living in that particular, “NYC is the Center of the Universe” bubble. Also, he seems to try too hard to be liked by people who will detest him, no matter what. At other times, he takes this strident, yammering, almost childish approach, where you expect him to say, “Nana-bobo”. When he does this, it diminishes him, and I feel kind of embarrassed for him.

On the other hand, Rush embodies that mid-west egalitarianism in every sense. Also, he embodies a certain confidence – almost a swagger – of someone who is unapologetically, who he is and knows what he believes and conveys it in a way that you feel like he’s talking just to you. When he’s angry, we’re all angry, and he carries that torch high for us all.

My guess would be Hannity is at number 2 but he wouldn’t go head-to-head with Rush. Put Air America or something comparable in the timeslot…collect all the nuts under one tree. Better, think of Air America or the NPR competition talk show as …..fly paper.

Every time the left tries to destroy Rush, he garners more listeners. All they are really doing is advertising his show to the uninformed. Once people start listening to see what all the hoo-ha is about, they get hooked by his common sense and truth telling. I say let the left continue this path to nowhere. Every little bit helps.

Exactly. Limbaugh can take anything thrown at him. If Reagan was the Teflon President, then Rush is the Teflon Pundit. The left seems to be completely unable to understand that simple fact even though they’ve had years of crap-throwing to inform them. Hey lefties, if you have nothing to show for 20+ years work, you might want to give up.

Rush Limbaugh is unparalleled for one simple reason: He’s a breath of fresh politically incorrect air! When I saw Huckabee do his “major” interview of Michelle Obama about obesity, I wanted to run to my stash of M & M’s in protest and disgust.

2 major reasons Rush succeeded as he did. 1: No one owns him , he says what he thinks. This makes the power brokers of both Partys skittish. 2: He has a wicked humor. No one in the country is funnier. Repeat last sentance of pt. 1. . For these reasons & others we will support him come hell or high water.

If Huckabee radio is at all like Huckabee TV, I’d rather listen to chess on the radio.

Rush is my go-to conservative radiogre*, followed by Mark Levin. I catch Todd Schnitt oince in a while too. Rush’s devious humor and ability to so unnerve and so get under the skin of liberals is wonderful, but his foundation is rock solid. Nobody in media has his skill for political prognostication. He sees a long way down the road and knows what will and won’t matter.

*Radiogre – [RAY-dee-oh-ger] – Term coined by my adult niece, a school teacher and fixture in the NC NEA and textbook liberal. To disagree with her means you are either a) ignurnt b) a bully, or c) a racist – the possibility you may be correct or have an arguable point is not on the menu of choices. Refuses to discuss or debate because it is pointless to debate ignurnt, racist bullies. Thinks Republicans deep fry and eat minority babies. Identifies Scott Walker as the Anti-Christ, at least letting George W. Bush off the hook for the moment.

Hey Hrh, I’ve been kicked off of C4P by that witch Stacy Drake. She didn’t like the fact that I want Palin to enter the race and she didn’t like me voicing my opinion so she tossed me. She needs to be removed and Palin needs to distance herself from that site. it’s gone downhill the past year

Let Huck be Huck.
Let Rush be Rush.
Diversity people are fine, until their toes get stepped on. Let the market place determine who is popular and who isn’t. Isn’t that what our country is supposed to be about. The stats cited above indicate it is.

H H , a suggestion. Anytime it calls to gift the fair charmer make it a donation to say , Ducks Unlimited. My understanding is it is still run by duckhunters but also supported by some enviros. You might as well have fun with your situation.

Thanks for the suggestion. Ducks Unlimited, eh? Heard of it/them, but don’t really know a thing. Re: enviros, I’m an enviro, but a *scientific* enviro, as opposed to political enviro. As for my niece, my fun is in torturing her with not quite veiled critical comments concerning President Kardashian, coupled with not at all veiled appreciative comments concerning Luke Scottwalker, Governor of Wisconsin and superhero. That one truly makes her gag.

One of her tactics is the old “for the children” thing, that if you are against anything the NEA wants, well, you must hate children. I’m now 60 miles from Raleigh, capital of NC, but worked there for two decades. I still travel there once or twice a week. Whenever my uberliberal schoolteacher niece goes on about how NC public schools are falling apart and need major, ahem, “investments”, I take out my photos of the NC Dept of Public Education building, inside and out, which is a freakin’ palace. Inside, even the secretaries have… secretaries. She resists the idea that schools need not more money, but to allot it more carefully.

NC’s state congress went full Republican in 2010. This fall, it is almost certain we’ll have a Republican governor as well (Pat McCrory, former mayor of Charlotte, moderate, but team player). The NC NEA is just gonna love the next four years.

I caught a little of Greg Gutfeld’s “Red Eye” when I came home late from work one night and couldn’t go to sleep.

He had some lefty guest who started bitching about Republicans/conservatives not caring about the environment nearly as much as people on the left. I tuned in after they’d started, but the topic had something to do with guns and the NRA.

Then another guest interjected (paraphrasing) “The greatest environmentalists in this country are hunters!”

At the end of the argument it was clear the hunter had by far won the argument.